The Way of the Wind
by JesuslUver
Summary: Stuff taken from Cirque Du Freak. Gabriella, running for not only her life but her people's as well, wakes in a strange world. Will she get back in time to save her people from slaughter, or will something in Middle Earth make her not want to leave?
1. Running

Gabriella Sky walked quickly and stealthily through the trees. The vampaneze had been tracking her for two weeks now. She, at least, had the advantage of walking in sunlight. She shouldn't have been able to walk in sunlight, after all, it was toxic to her people, but here she was, in the bright afternoon sun. Gabriella jumped over a log and looked worried as she saw the sun begin to set. She had been able to keep just ahead of her enemy for so long, she wondered if she could last another night.

Gabriella wasn't an ordinary teenager. She was a vampire. Not only that, but she was a princess. Her people elected their leaders, who were called Princes, and she had been elected when she was 13. She was the youngest princess ever to be elected and she was the first girl.

The sun was half way out of the sky, it's golden edges just touching the breathtaking mountains below it.

Gabriella had to get back to Vampire mountain soon. She had been lucky enough to hear some conspiring Vampaneze speak about plans to storm the mountain, the strong hold of the Vampires. She had to warn them, or the war would go very badly.

The sun was halfway behind the majestic mountains, it's light shining off of the surface of a rustic mountain lake.

Gabriella had never met her parents. She had missed them, but she wouldn't give up her vampire family for the world. They had found her when she was only a week old. Some wolves brought her to them and she was near death with hunger and cold. The vampires warmed her up, but they didn't know how to care for a baby. She couldn't eat the bat broth they tried to give her, and they didn't know to heat up the cow's milk. She grew closer and closer to death. Finally, a Prince named Paris Sky couldn't take it any longer. He decided to blood her; to turn her into a half vampire in hopes that she would grow strong again if she could drink blood. He had a hard time of it, but he put her to sleep with his breath, and put his hands together, piercing the ends of his finger tips with his sharp nails. He then scrunch his fingers together so he could pierce her tiny fingers with his nails as well. He then put their wounds together and their blood started to transfer. The youngest human ever to be turned into a vampire had been Paris himself, who was three at the time. When he was done, he licked the child's wounds first, his spit healing the cuts immediately. After healing his own wounds he peeked a look at the still child.

You could see a sliver of the sun over the mountains. Dusk was over the land and Gabriella saw a flash of a shadow to her right. She sped up.

The baby was still living, though barely. He sighed in slight relief, but the night wasn't over yet, and the child was still in peril. He wrapped her in blankets and held her, keeping vigil to see if the baby would live to see another day. After hours of waiting, Paris felt movement in his arms. He looked down to see the small child open her eyes slightly. He jumped up in joy to see her vibrant dark blue eyes looking at him with curiosity. He ran out into the tunnel and brought news to several restless vampires that were waiting in the Great Hall. To him, those blue eyes, so dark they were almost violet, were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. From that day on, The newly named Gabriella was the light in the dark caverns of Vampire Mountain.

The sun was now gone, and with it, Gabriella's hope of escape. She saw two more shadows to her left and a large shadow looming in front. They were coming.

There wasn't much the vampires could offer to a child, but she grew up happy. Whenever one of the clan went out of Vampire mountain, for it was the instinct of the vampire to move around, when they came back they always had a toy or a sweet for the child. A doll, a candy, a ball; They pampered her, for she was a beacon of innocence in their harsh world. When she was 6 months old, Paris repeated what he did when he first blooded her, and she was made into a full vampire. She could no longer go into the sun, but now she could flit(move faster than you could see), she had exceptional sight and strength, she could put you to sleep with her breath and heal wounds with her spit, and she was the youngest vampire in history, for vampires are unable to give birth. She was content with her many brothers and a couple sisters, with her wise and doting father watching over her, growing up in a world that gave other little girls nightmares.

Gabriella slowed to a halt. She could go no farther. She had no energy to flit and her legs were burning with her extended effort. It was over. She discretely loosened he twin blades in their sheathes and prepared for battle as 8 dark figures circled the girl, gleeful with their catch.

When she was young, Gabriella's favorite past time was watching her family train. The vampire's way of life was harsh and sword fighting was one of the main past times. None of the vampires took up archery, for it was dishonorable not to meet your opponent in combat, hand to hand. Since she was a full vampire, she grew up at a tenth of the rate of humans. So when she was ten, she was starting to toddle, and by the time she was 11 she said her first word. When she was 46, she picked up her first sword. It was a very small wooden sword, but nothing gave her greater joy than to play sword fighting with all her brothers and sisters. When she was 62, she had started actually training with her little wooden sword, and Paris was the only one who would teach her, for he didn't trust the others. By the time she was 98, she could beat several of the less experienced vampires, but she was learning quickly, and now she was learning all the tricks and strategies she could from the other vampires. She then found dirks. Two blades, like sword only smaller and lighter. She excelled even more at these. They were her weapon of choice and for a good reason. She was a prodigy and she was going to develop her skills to their fullest.

Gabriella stood firmly and confidently in the middle of the moon lit clearing. The moon lit up her beautiful features as she looked at her foe with hard eyes. One walked foreword. The moon didn't compliment his skin like it did to her creamy milk white skin. His purple skin looked sickly in the white light and his red eyes gleamed with the hope of a kill, especially one such as this. Not only a Princess, but the hope of the vampires. It would be nice to use her as a hostage, but he knew that she would never let them take her alive. This would be a fight to the death.

Not only was Gabriella learning sword play, but at her fathers knee, she was becoming a brilliant strategist. That was why she competed in the Trials of Death. She wanted to become a general, some of the highest vampires, and in order to do that she needed to go through the trials that had killed so many vampires. When she was 119 she competed. She was agile through the Path of Needles and used her sharp hearing and agility in the Hall of Flames. She got through all 5 trials, not unharmed, but alive. She was now a general, but she would carry scars for life. It was then that the Vampaneze attacked. She led a group of 10 vampires and they demolished a group of 50 vampaneze, who were on their way to Vampire Mountain. She was a hero and the vampires agreed. There was only one way they could show their gratitude.

The 8 vampaneze took out their swords and axes. Gabriella looked at the situation and decided that she could beat them. Then, ten more vampaneze jumped out of the shadow of the trees and Gabriella wasn't sure of her end. She was a brilliant swordsman, but she was exhausted and hadn't drank any blood for two weeks. She assessed her bodies situation, and made her stance more firm. She would go out fighting.

The vampires had elected her as a Princess. The Princes led the vampires and there had never been a female in office, let alone a child. However, the population was adamant about making the girl one of their leaders, so when she was 136, she was made Gabrielle Sky, Vampire Princess.

Gabriella made a sweep with her blades and cut the knees of two vampaneze. The whole pack jumped into action and she had 18 blades coming at her. No matter how many swerves or blocks she made, there were too many. Gabriella didn't feel them cut her shoulder, or her lower leg. She just went on fighting. All fighting stopped when Gabriella had 9 vampaneze surrounding her and her back against a tree. She was trapped.

The ceremony was elaborate, for everyone was excited about this new chapter in their history. Paris and 3 of the other 5 Princes gathered around the blood stone, a stone that allowed you to see any vampire that had bled into it. Paris put his hands together, piercing his skin at the tip of his fingers, much like 136 years before. Gabriella did the same thing with her nicely manicured nails. They joined one of their hands and the other connected to the blood stone. With the transfer of blood in her body, she felt herself change, And when the ceremony was done she stood in front of the gathered crowd. She was now one of their leaders and the people were joyous in this fact. There was much celebrating in Vampire Mountain that day. They had a new princess and she would be a princess for as long as she lived.

A vampaneze let out a squeal of delight, and threw it's war ax right at her. Gabriella resigned to her death, prepared her self. There was nothing she could do and she accepted it. She kept her eyes open as she watched the flying ax coming towards her heart. At the very last second she closed her eyes and knew no more.


	2. Captured

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that can be found in The Lord of the Rings, By J.R.R. Tolkien, or the Cirque Du Freak sieries, by Darren Shan.

Gabriella slowly opened her eyes. She looked at her sunlit surroundings. The axe had been about to kill her when she had blinked. She stood up. 'I wonder if I'm in heaven,' she thought. Gabriella turned a full circle and looked at her surroundings. It was a clearing. A wooded clearing and it might have been the one she was attacked in, but it was different. The trees were somehow different and the mountains were gone. Well, not gone, but in the West, instead of the East they were at when she was in the woods. A spell if dizziness overtook her. She wandered over to a nearby stream and drank.

She kept wandering up the stream, staring in slight fear at her strange surroundings. She caught the occasional small animal or rodent and drank their blood. It helped her gain strength, but she needed human blood. She had gone far too long without it, and her skin was dry and her hair, dull. She had been wandering for eight hours when she heard a commotion far in the distance. She jumped in a tree and waited, the sun beating down on her.

She had found out that she could walk in the sun when she was 84, or about eight and a half years old, human wise. She had been wandering the countryside with Paris. She had fallen asleep carelessly while Paris was hunting, and he hadn't been able to find her before the sun came up. When she had woken up she shrieked in surprise. She had run for cover, but was amazed that when she finally found a small cave in a cliff, she had no damage to her skin. It was about mid-day, so she must have been in the sun for hours, and yet, her skin was still the milky white it was before, from lack of sun. A regular vampire would have been fried. It was then that she learned that sun didn't effect her. It was odd, but Paris was glad that the child wouldn't have to go through her entire life without feeling the warming rays of the sun.

While she had been reflecting, about 20 strange creatures had gathered in the wood below her. They were ugly and deformed, with black skin. Their stink rose and permeated the air around Gabriella until she thought she would gag. The things started to set up a camp underneath her, and she was faced with a difficult choice. She could stay in the tree and wait until they left, or she could go fight them. 'Maybe I could drink their blood,' she thought, and her decision was made.

She dropped from the tree into the middle of their group, and felt her leg collapse. 'Oh crap,' she thought, as the creatures stared at her in surprise. She struggled to stand and pulled out her dirks. The things started to attack, and she quickly killed five of the stupid creatures as they rushed towards her one after another. The remaining things looked at their reduced numbers and all charged her with war cries.

Gabriella kept up as best as she could, but it was kind of difficult, considering her leg was giving her sharp pains and she was tired in the first hand. They were down to eight when her leg collapsed once again. The things surged, and she sat on the ground and deflected the best she could. She killed five more, based on lucky hits, and skill at defending herself. 'Three left,' she thought to herself. The three retreated to think about the best way to get her. Gabriella got to a nearby tree and lent heavily on it. The last three were BIG and she didn't think she could handle them. One tried to sneak up on her and she quickly killed him, but fell flat on her face as she did so. The last two laughed and closed in on her.

She stabbed the foot of one and it howled with the sharp pain. The other one glanced at it's wounded partner and that had been the moment Gabriella had been waiting for. She stabbed in an upward motion, entering it's lower chest and piercing the evil thing's heart. The last one, the one with the injured foot, screeched and dove for her. A quick roll saved her life, and the idiotic thing landed on it's own outstretched sword.

Gabriella carefully stood and looked at the scattered clearing. She looked around and took a closer look at one of the creatures. She tasted the blood on her knife, and immediately spat it back out. 'Gross,' she thought. She glanced at the deformed face again, and her mouth dropped open. That was why these things seemed familiar.

About two years before, she had been in America, and bored out of her mind, so she had gone to a little movie theater. The only thing that was playing was The Lord of the Rings. It was a marathon of the trilogy, and Gabriella remembered how much she had enjoyed the fighting scenes. 'What were they called?' she thought to herself. Orts, orps, ords, orks.. That's it! Orcs! But that would mean she was in Middle Earth. It had been a while since she had seen the movies.

She heard another sound. She climbed slowly into the tree she had been in before and waited. A group of 30 men walked into the clearing and stared at the carnage around them. They had been tracking this band of orcs for 5 days now, and arrived at their target to find them slaughtered. The men discussed the situation among themselves and then decided to make camp and burn the orcs.

Gabriella waited until they had their camp settled, and watched as one man strayed off towards the stream. Gabriella slowly followed him, going from tree to tree. She saw him dip his canteen into the stream and she scrambled down her tree.

The man turned around and looked startled at the disheveled girl before him. She was looking at him with sorrowful eyes, tears threatening at the corners. He slowly walked towards the woman.

"Are you all right?" he asked. The girl collapsed and he raced to catch her. He looked at her and saw a hard glint in her eyes. She breathed into his face and he collapsed, unconscious.

Gabriella looked at her catch and grinned. The damsel in distress trick always worked. Especially when she was too weak to overpower someone. She quickly lifted the unconscious man's arm, and stopped when she saw his ears. They were pointed. 'He's an elf,' Gabriella thought sadly. 'I don't know if his blood is safe.'

She had to try, she decided. She wouldn't make it much longer. She took up the elf's arm again and picked a spot. She used her sharp fingernail to make a half inch long cut on his forearm. She quickly licked the spilled blood, and drank her fill, which came surprisingly quickly. 'Elves must have very nourishing blood,' she decided. It only took half the amount to satisfy her starving appetite.

She rubbed her spit onto the elf's cut and stood up. She could already feel her skin healing, and her dark hair regaining it's shine. She looked up in time to see a shocked elf staring at her. She was still too weak to flit, and her leg was still painful to put weight on.

The elf shouted something and she was surrounded by elves in moments. They stared at their fallen comrade and quickly grabbed Gabriella's arms to stop her from running. Gabriella gasped and saw bright lights flashing in front of her eyes, when one of the stronger elves grabbed her arm right where her wound was. The elf that had seen her was speaking quickly in an unknown language to the others, and the grip on her wound became tighter. Finally the pain in her arm became too much and Gabriella blacked out.

The elves caught her and watched her unmoving form for any tricks. The elf with a grip on her upper arm let go to see blood on his hand. He alerted the elves to their captive's plight and they carried the unconscious girl back to camp.

The elf then checked the elf still lying on the ground and was relieved

to see him stirring. This is going to be a very interesting night, the elf decided as he led his friend, who was fully recovered, back to camp.

Gabriella jerked awake, and looked around with stony eyes. She was tied to a tree in the middle of a camp. An elf walked slowly towards her. When he reached her tree, he stared at her. She stared back. Finally, the elf got enough courage to speak.

"Who is Vampaneze?" He asked. Gabriella looked at him solemnly.

"How do you know of the Vampaneze?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"You were talking in your sleep," replied the elf, watching her with a wary eye.

"You said that you needed to get to Vampire Mountain to warn Paris about the Vampaneze. What do you speak about?"

"I can't tell you," she said. Gabriella looked down, shivering at the thought of her attackers. The Vampaneze were cousins of the vampires. The only difference between Vampires and the Vampaneze was that the Vampaneze found it dishonorable not to completely drain their victims, killing them in the process. Vampires saw it as wasteful. That was the reason the Vampaneze had purple skin and red eyes; they drank so much blood.

The elf nodded and walked away. Gabriella assessed her situation. She felt the pain in her leg wound and her arm wound, and found herself weak. She guessed she could flit, the elven blood had helped a lot, but she still needed normal food. Right now she was wishing for a nice hot bowl of bat broth, a chunk of bread, and a nice goblet of hot, salty blood.

She didn't notice an elf come and stand in front of her. Her eyes were glazed with memories of past feasts flitting through her mind. She slowly looked up and controlled her urge to flinch. The elf was glaring at her with such malice, that she half expected him to kill her right there.

"You attacked one of my kinsmen," he claimed in a low, deadly voice. He took a step closer to her.

"It is true. I attacked you kinsmen," said Gabriella, "However I did it for a really good reason."

"You should be killed right away," the elf said, "so no more of our numbers are harmed."

"Dude!" Gabriella exclaimed in exasperation. "Does he look dead? Does he look like he's in pain? Can you even see a single scratch on him? No. Seriously, I just took what I needed and that was it. You could have waited for an explanation before accusing me."

The elf glanced back at the 'injured' soldier and saw him smiling and laughing, while eating his dinner. "What is your name?" He asked the prisoner.

"Gabriella." she replied. "Could you please untie me? I have to bind my injuries. They haven't been attended to yet. And I got them.." Gabriella stopped. She didn't know how long ago she had gotten the wounds.

"Were you the one who killed those orcs?" Asked Mr. Stick-up-the-rear, as she had named him. "Did they give you those wounds?"

Gabriella scoffed. "No! That stupid pack couldn't have injured me. Well, I guess they could have. They almost did. Because of my stupid leg. But that wasn't given to me by them. That was from... before." she left off lamely.

"You. A female? You killed those 20 orcs all by yourself?" asked the shocked elf.

"Watch it! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't fight. Hey! Where are my dirks?" she asked as she noticed that they were missing. "And my knives? Give them back! And in that case, let me go! I have to get back. The armies are marching right now... Oops."

"Armies?" whispered the elf dangerously. "Are you working for the enemy?"

"No! No!" Gabrielle said with her eyes widening slightly. "Back home. I overheard some of the enemy. I need to warn them!"

"You need to warn them at Vampire Mountain? About the Vampaneze creatures? Do not lie. Tell me who you are and where you're from. Tell me why you had to feed on the blood of one of my soldiers!"

"I can't," whispered Gabriella, looking down ant her feet. "I can't betray my people."

"Fine," said the elf. "I'm bringing you back to Imladris with us. We will discover the truth one way or another."

Gabriella slumped down in her bindings in defeat. She lifted her face to see the fiery sun paint the sky with pinks and oranges as it sank into the trees. Night was coming. Gabriella reveled in night, and it brought her hope.


	3. Torture

Disclaimer- I don't own anything by J.R.R. Tolkien or Darren Shan

Thank you to AngelofMusic15 for being my Beta.

Gabriella was jerked awake when some elves grabbed blankets near her tree. She looked around the camp and was surprised to see nearly everything packed up and on horses. She thought they had forgotten her, but right then, the rude elf from the night before stepped in front of her. He glared at her before untying her from the tree, but kept her hands bound. He roughly pushed her towards a horse, without speaking. 'Someone sure isn't a morning person' thought Gabriella. She sighed and walked where he was leading her; not that she really had a choice. All he did was tie a longer rope to her bound hands and mount the horse. Gabriella was left standing there, with her hands bound in front of her and the elf holding the other end of the rope. He then led her like a horse. This, without a doubt, pissed her off.

"Hey! Buddy! Don't I get the decency of a horse or something? I feel like an animal being led to the slaughter!" Gabriella cried furiously.

"I'm sorry," replied the cold and distant elf. "We don't offer such accommodations to dangerous criminals. That would be irrational considering we don't have any spare horses."

"Fine." Said Gabriella with an impatient sigh. "Have it your way." With that she swiftly cut her bonds with her super sharp nails and started to flit.

She only got so far, seeing as the gap in the trees she was aiming for suddenly got blocked as an elf steered it's horse into line with the others. She stopped right in time, to prevent colliding with the horse, but that was a mistake. She was gasping from her extended efforts and her leg was throbbing. She was about to resume flitting when a hand grabbed her hair with a vicious tug. She fell to the ground, crying out in agony.

All of the elves were staring at her with pale faces and the elf whose horse she had almost run into looked like he was going to pass out. Gabriella was lying on the ground, gasping for air from the swift punch to the ribs that had assisted her trip to the ground.

The elf that had grabbed her trussed her up like a rump roast, ready to go into the oven. Her legs were tied together, her arms were bound to her body, and her hands looked like a mummy's, wrapped together to the tips of her fingers. He then lifted her and put her over his horse's back. He also put a length of cloth in her mouth to stop her creative cursing.

The elves then moved out and traveled throughout the day. The only times Gabriella was let off the horse was when they stopped to rest and water the horses. By the end of the day, Gabriella was so cramped up that she wanted to die. Every time the horse jolted, a grunt of pain emitted from her mouth and every time the horse scrambled down a ravine or crossed a stream, a few more tears escaped from her eyes.

When the elves finally settled down to camp, Gabriella was sat against a tree, and once again, tied to it. The gag was removed from her mouth so the elf from before, the captain, could interrogate her. She once again refused to answer any of his questions. Only after the interrogation, when the elf was about to leave, did she speak.

"Where are we going and when will we get there?" she asked weakly.

The elven captain glared at her and replied, "We are going to Imladris, or Rivendell to some. We should get there in about two days. There you will be tried for your crimes." He then walked to a nearby fire, though the fire was too far away to offer Gabriella any heat or comfort.

Rivendell. Gabriella turned this name over in her mind. 'Oh yes! That elven city from Fellowship of the Ring! "Maybe Lord Elrond can help me. Or maybe he could talk to Galadriel and figure out how I got here, or if I can get back," she mumbled.

"What did you say?" asked the elf captain, coming back over.

"Oh," said Gabriella with a sly smile on her face. "I was just wondering if you could tell me your name. Mr. Stick-up-the-rear is kind of lengthy, and seeing as I haven't eaten any real food for 12 days, I really can't keep up."

Let's just say that noble, stately, perfect elven face got REALLY red. 'Red like a lobster, mmmmm with butter, or an apple, mmmmm caramel covered apples, or a tomato, mmmmm tomato soup, or fresh blood, mmmm hikers' thought Gabriella. Let's just say she was hungry.

"My name is Elladan, and I wouldn't be so impertinent, if I were you. I am the son of the Lord of Rivendell, and it is he who will be sentencing you. You aren't making a very strong case." said the now recognized Elladan.

"Ooh, touchy," said Gabriella. She was tired of being scared and weak and hungry. She was so thirsty her voice was raspy. She could feel her skin drying out a little more every second.

"Well, almighty Elladan, son of Lord Elrond of Rivendell, I refuse to speak to you until you treat me with respect, instead of a like a piece of dog crap that just clings to your shoe that you can't get off. I will require some food, and water, and some medical supplies, and I would like a blanket if you have one."

"No," said Elladan with a glare. And with that he walked away. Gabriella didn't talk for the next two days, not that she could seeing her mouth was dry and every time Elladan's feet came into view, she couldn't produce enough moisture to show him what she thought of his, 'I'm the son of Lord Elrond' crap.

About noon on the second day, they met another small group of elves. While the rest ate their midday meal, Gabriella sat slumped against a tree, too weak to raise her head. Her stomach sent constant pains to her and her shoulder and leg burned with infection. She couldn't even spit on her leg to start the healing process, and her lack of water had caused her to become dehydrated.

She felt a shadow come over, blocking the merciless sun. She pooled the last of energy so she could send a glare at Elladan, for she knew it was him. All of the other elves kept away from her. She looked up and saw that it was him in fact.

She glared at him and rasped, "Come to gloat again? I didn't think your head could get any bigger but, would you look at that! I think you've added an inch to it's circumference! Congrats." Gabriella's head dropped to her chest, her burst of energy gone.

'Elladan' knelt next to her, but then he was yanked up. Gabriella looked up at his cry of surprise and saw two _Ellandans._

"Great," Gabriella once again rasped, " There's two of you now. Where did you hide the cloning machine? Leave me in my misery."

"Elladan!" Gabriella heard an angry voice say, "Why have you bound this girl to this tree! You can see her wounds are infected and she looks like she hasn't seen food or water for days!"

"It's probably all lies," Gabriella heard the same voice say, but coming from a different direction. " She probably has tons of water and food and gets it when our backs are turned with her dark magic. Perk up Princess of Mordor, Elrohir! She was seen drinking the blood of one of our people! And then she was in one place one second and in another place the next. She cut ropes with her finger nails!"

" One of our people was killed by her?" asked the elf to the left.

"No," rasped Gabriella, "I drank the blood of Mr. Pansy over there so I wouldn't die," nudging her head in the direction of the elf she drank from. Elladan and Elrohir looked over at the elf who was smelling a daisy with a gleeful smile on his face. "Water," she whispered before passing out from dehydration and pain.

Elrohir and Elladan both observed the limp girl. "This has gone too far," said Elrohir who went to get his water bag. Elladan protested, but finally allowed Elrohir to try and awaken the girl. After his failed attempts, Elrohir decided that their father would have to look at her, so the group proceeded to Rivendell.

When they reached the city gates, the girl on the horse started to stir. Elrohir gave her a little water, and then they all continued up to the stables. Both Elladan and Elrohir had to help the semi-conscience girl climb the stairs into the city. They were headed for the dungeons when Lord Elrond happened to find them on one of his daily walks. As soon as Gabriella saw Lord Elrond, she came to full consciousness. She jerked out of the twin's hold and fell at the Lord of Rivendell's feet.

Lord Elrond looked at the weeping girl at his feet. "Elrond! Get me away from these evil fiends!" she cried. "Water! So hungry!" he heard her gasp and she rolled over and lost consciousness once again. Lord Elrond glared at his sons and knelt to examine the girl.

Legolas had been wandering the halls of Rivendell, when he ran into Lord Elrond and his twin offspring. He greeted them and then saw the girl sprawled on the ground that Elrond had just risen from.

She looked odd. She had very pale, dry skin, and midnight black hair, which was dry and dull. She was wearing tight black pants made of a strange shiny leather and a tight shirt made of the same materiel, which showed her mid drift. She looked as if she had lost a lot of weight in a short time, and he could tell her clothes had been made for a much more healthy weight. He could see a festering wound on her arm, and another through a cut in the fabric of her pants. He studied her face. She had fine boned features, but her lips were dried and cracked. She had a strange black substance lining her eyes. He saw that she had pointed ears.

"Why is this elleth laying in the middle of this hall?" asked Legolas, shocked at the appearance of the girl, "And in such a sad state! Was she captured by orcs? I expect they treat their captives like this."

Elladan looked down with a shamed face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't contain my rage." he said. "She was caught drinking the blood of one of my soldiers, so I held her captive."

"She hasn't had food for three days from what we know, probably longer from before he came upon her," said Elrohir. "She didn't have water for three days that we know of until now, when we gave her a little. Legolas, what do you mean by elleth?"

"She has pointed ears. She is an elf. Did you not notice?" asked a puzzled Legolas.

Elladan looked down in shock. It was true. Elrond looked up to see curios faces looking their way, so he hustled the group off to the house of healing.

They all sat around Lord Elrond's desk while one of the healers tended to the strange girl's wounds, and helped to save her from starvation. After drinking a little broth and some water in her hazy state, she fell back onto the bed and lost herself into exhaustion.

The elves were all waiting for her to wake up. Meanwhile, Elladan told the group all he knew about Gabriella. He told them what the soldier told Elladan about how he had seen her breath into his friend's face, then cut his arm, lap up the blood, then seal it again with her spit. Elladan recounted what happened when she moved faster than the eye can see and also told them about what she had said when he had interrogated her.

Elrond told his sons to go to bed, and he walked towards the healing wing, so he could watch over the girl, for she couldn't be more than sixteen.

Legolas went on a walk that night; he couldn't sleep. He was thinking of what he had been told, wondering how such an innocent looking girl could cause so much turmoil in the calm realm of Rivendell; his refuge, his place to be away from the evils that were quickly creeping into his beautiful kingdom of Mirkwood.


	4. Explanations

Thank you so much to my reviewers. I really appreciate constructive critisism. I'm trying to improve as a writer, and would like some feedback on how I'm doing. Sorry for the delay. I reading the Cirque du Freak books again, so some of the facts might be wrong until I refresh my memory. Thanks again reviewers!

I don't own anything to do with the stories written by Darren Shan or J.R.R. Tolkien

Elrond watched as the girl stirred. She slowly opened her eyes and just looked at him.

"Hello, Lord Elrond," he heard her say, and then she just sat there, staring at him. He didn't interrupt her, for he could tell she was deep in thought. He was thinking as well. Why would she need the blood of another, and how did she know who he was when she first saw him, when he was sure he had never seen this elleth before? She finally blinked and opened her mouth to speak.

Gabriella hesitated. For the past couple of minutes she had been debating whether or not to tell Elrond about the Vampires. She had grown up knowing that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone about the vampires. People feared them and then the Vampire's highly coveted privacy would be gone. That training alone should have been enough to make up her mind, but then there were other thoughts. This wasn't Earth, and there weren't any vampires here to her knowledge. She could just tell Elrond about her people and then he could help her get home. This whole situation could be forgotten. She could also leave out the part about her being a vampire, but that would leave too many unanswered questions, and she knew Lord Elrond to be wise. Her old training and the new thoughts of no vampires kept bombarding her mind. Finally she came to a decision and she felt peace come into her muddled mind. If Lord Elrond asked, or if her life was in danger, she would talk, but she wouldn't give up any of the vampire secrets.

"How's the weather?" said Gabriella at last.

Elrond smiled slightly and said, "It's a beautiful day, one such as you can only get right after a rainstorm. Now, my son tells me your name is Gabriella, a most odd name. Gabriella, will you tell me why my son is so angry at you?"

Gabriella blinked in surprise. No immediate accusations. She was starting to like this guy. "Probably because I drank the blood of one of his friends."

"Now Gabriella," started Lord Elrond, "would you care to answer me why you felt the need, or why you had to drink the blood of one of my people?"

"The million dollar question," Gabriella said in defeat. "That was an inevitable question that I hoped you wouldn't ask. I'm not supposed to tell you, but seeing as I'm far from home, my life is in danger, and possibly my only way home so I can warn my people of their impending danger is you, and you think I'm some ally of Sauron, I'm going to make a exception." Elrond blinked at her. Gabriella continued with her story. "I'm a Vampire. Our people have to drink human blood, well I guess elven blood works too, or we'll die. Go ahead. Ask a question, any question, but I will draw the line at certain things."

"How did you start in one place, and then appear in another, in seemingly no time?" asked Lord Elrond, his curiosity peaked.

"We can flit, meaning we can move faster than the eye can see. That's usually how we travel long distances. I know you're going to ask how else we are different, so I'm going to tell you ahead of time. Vampires can't go into sunlight. The sun is poisonous, you could say, and it burns our skin, and can even kill us. Well, the others. I can walk in sunlight for some strange reason, even though I am a full Vampire." Gabriella looked troubled at this. She stared at her hands in thought for a moment before shaking her head. She glanced at Lord Elrond and saw him patiently looking at her with curiosity. Strengthened by his calm exterior, Gabriella went on. "We also have very tough, sharp finger nails. We can cut skin and flesh with them. That is usually how we feed. We draw our finger across their skin, feed, and then use our spit to heal the cut. It has healing properties. Oh yeah, we put the people we feed off of asleep with our breath. It puts them to sleep for a couple minutes. We surprise them in the night, and they wake up, lying on the ground with a very faint scar that they usually never notice."

"So you have never killed someone?" asked Lord Elrond.

"Not an innocent person I was feeding on. We see it as a waste to kill humans. But I have killed. We are trained to fight. It's our way of life. I would never think of killing someone innocent though," Gabriella said quickly.

Lord Elrond nodded in understanding. "How old are you Gabriella?"

"Um, I just turned 169. Vampires age a tenth of the rate of humans. I guess you could say I'm sixteen years old. But I'm going to be seventeen in a year." said Gabriella. "I'm considered a grown up among my people so you don't need to treat me like a child."

"Not at all," laughed Lord Elrond. He sobered up and asked her, "What are the names of your parents? They are vampires, are they not?"

Gabriella looked at her hands after he asked her this touchy question. "I never knew my parents. Vampires can't give birth. We change people into vampires. I was a week old. Wolves brought me to the mountain, and it was the only way they could think of to keep me alive. I was raised among all the other vampires. But the man I call father is named Paris Sky." She glanced at Elrond and then went back to looking at her hands.

Lord Elrond stood up. He could tell she was done talking, and he had a decision to make. He, himself, didn't think she was quite as guilty as his son would lead her to be, but there was still the problem. Would he be able to allow someone to live in Rivendel, when he knew she fed off of his people? He just smiled at her and called a servant to get her something to eat.

"I will be back within the hour. Please refrain from feeding off of a maid. Regain your strength," said Lord Elrond and he exited the room.

* * *

"What do you mean we're not going to kill her? She is a danger to our city, and you are going to allow her to just walk around? Ada, please reconsider!" Let's just say Elladan wasn't happy.

"I think it makes perfect sense," interjected Elrohir. "She only did what she had to do, so that she wouldn't die. No one was hurt and we know she won't hurt anyone in the future."

"Did you ever think she was lieing?" asked Elladan. "I.." Elladan's tirade was halted when his father interrupted him.

"Enough," said Elrond in a deadly voice. "I have made my decision and it is final. She shall stay in the city until we can find a way to send her back home, if we can find a way. I am going to assign her to a permanent room."

"Very well," Elladan sighed, as he sank into a chair in front of Elrond's desk. He didn't want someone who fed off of others in his house

* * *

Lord Elrond had just finished explaining to Gabriella what her situation was. She sat on her bed and felt a tear slide down her face. She quickly wiped it away. It wasn't acceptable to cry.

"Why do you cry?" asked Lord Elrond, confused as to why this child was so sad after he had just told her that she could live.

"My people will die and it will be all my fault," said Gabriella quietly. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't warn them in time. It will be too late by the time we find a way to send me home."

"I am sorry child, but there is nothing more I can do." said Lord Elrond in a resigned voice.

"I understand," said Gabriella. Lord Elrond could see her face harden. He sighed and went to fetch a maid to bring Gabriella to her new rooms.

* * *

Gabriella walked into the open, airy room she had just been shown to. She looked at the beauty around her, but missed her home in The Mountain. The vampires had made her a special coffin. It had tons of plush cushions, and they were covered in her favorite color. Red silk covered the inside and the outside was black with beautiful carvings on it.

She looked at the beautiful bed covered in white sheets and a light blue comforter. She sighed and sat down on the bed. She ran her fingers across the carvings in the bedpost. There were windows all along the walls with gauzy floor-length curtains in them.

The room felt like it was outdoors, but it held the shelter of a house. Gabriella walked over to a large wardrobe. She studied the carving on the door. There was an image of horses racing through a forest. She smiled, but looked startled when a maid walked in.

"Hello! Lord Elrond informed me that you would like a bath, and you need some clothes." said the cheery elleth. She studied Gabriella's ripped, tight, black outfit and raised her eyebrows. She bustled over to Gabriella and led her through her door.

First she led Gabriella to a large room filled with different fabrics. There was another elf there, and she immediately set to work, measuring Gabriella for some dresses. She shook her head and clicked her tongue at Gabriella's thin, starved frame, and told the maid something in elvish. The elleth nodded and hurried Gabriella through the door.

She led Gabriella to another room. It had several wood screens, blocking the view to several baths set in the floor. One was already full of steaming water, and her maid showed her over to it.

"You may choose any of these oils to put in your bath, and here are several choices for soap for your hair. Oh, and here is some other soap. I'll be back. Leave your clothes there, next to the bath and put on that robe when you're done," the maid explained, and she bustled back out of the door.

Gabriella timidly stepped out of her clothes and slipped into the water full of warm water. She looked at the array of oils, and chose one that reminded her of vanilla. It was a little more earthy though, and it reminded her of the Mountain. She poured some of the oil into the bath, and sank down to soak away the dirt that had accumulated on her skin. She relished this luxury. Vampire Mountain's only bathing option was the waterfall, which was freezing cold, and she never had enough good smelling soap.

After a couple of minutes, she slipped once again to the side of the pool. She looked at the arrayed bottles of shampoo. She selected one that smelled like the vanilla oil, but still different. This one had hints of fruit. She didn't recognize the fruit, but she was content with the smell. She had to wash her hair four times with the soap before it was clean enough. After she was happy with the cleanliness of her hair, she chose a soap that had a clean fresh, minty smell. When she was done washing, she checked to make sure no one had come into the room and stepped out of the bath. She put on a white robe that felt like cotton.

She stood in the warm air for about five minutes, before the maid came in. She smiled at Gabriella and led her into an adjoining room. There, she helped Gabriella into the semi-confusing undergarments and the dress she had brought. Gabriella frowned at the dress, but allowed herself to be dressed, remembering the robes she wore to formal occasions in Vampire Mountain.

When she was dressed, her maid sat her down at a table with a mirror in front of it. She pinned Gabriella's hair up in complicated twists, leaving half of her hair down, along with some tendrils in the front. The forest green dress the maid had selected accentuated her blue eyes, and the plush material contrasted well with Gabriella's pale, white skin, along with her black hair.

Gabriella stood and slowly followed her maid back to her room. Or at least she thought so. She stopped when her maid opened a door and she heard the quiet murmur of conversing elves. The maid walked over to Lord Elrond who sat on the dais at the front of the long hall. She said something in his ear, and he looked towards the doorway Gabriella was peering in through. He nodded and whispered something back to the maid. She came back to Gabriella.

"Go! You are to eat dinner in the hall tonight. Your seat is in between Prince Legolas's and Lord Elrohir's. Grand company milady. Go enjoy your evening meal." The maid informed Gabriella, and then she walked back down the hall.

Gabriella looked in on the hall and met Lord Elrond's eyes. She saw the welcoming in them and decided that she was a Princess. A leader of her people and she would represent her people as best as she could, even though none of the elves had even heard the name.

Gabriella's pose strengthened and she walked into the room, she quickly walked to a seat that was next to Elrohir. Well, Elrohir was sitting next to Elladan, who was sitting next to Lord Elrond, and there was an empty seat between Elrohir and then a blond haired elf. She supposed this was her seat and sat down in it.

There was silence in the room until Lord Elrond said "May I present Lady Gabriella. She is a guest in Imladris." All the elves nodded and went back to their conversations. Gabriella saw that everyone was helping themselves to platters of food in front of them. Gabriella looked around and saw many foods that she had never seen before. She saw a plate of meat not far from herself and checked it out.

"That would be venison, Lady Gabriella. Would you like some?" asked Elrohir, following her gaze. Gabriella quickly looked into his eyes, but didn't see any malice, so she nodded, shyly. Elrohir put some on her plate, along with some bread that was too far away for her. She smiled at him and thanked him. He nodded and went back to his meal. Gabriella tentatively tried her venison, and was surprised to find hints of rosemary and some other spice that she couldn't place. As she started eating her meal, Gabriella looked around the hall. It was too quiet for the amount of people there. At Vampire Mountain, the hall would be ringing with bawdy laughter and yells for more beer.

Surprised by a sudden rush of homesickness, Gabriella ducked her head. "What is wrong?" ventured Elrohir, surprised that such a defiant girl was being so quiet and shy.

"I.. I was just remembering feasts at The Mountain. I'm sorry." said Gabriella, and she started buttering her roll with determination.

"Would you describe them to us?" asked the silent elf beside her. Gabriella smiled softly.

"They are always loud. Very loud. People sitting everywhere, getting drunk. Making jokes in voices so loud that the whole hall would hear, and so the entire mountain would be filled with laughter. Hot bat broth and freshly made bread. Pitchers of salty hot blood. I remember the one after I became a Pr…" Gabriella stopped there. She didn't want to tell them that she was a leader among her people.

Lord Elrond frowned at her. He had heard the slip of her tongue. "Princess?" he asked.

"No," said Gabriella. "We don't have a royal family. No Kings or Queens. I said when I became a …Productive member of the clan. When I…killed my first Vampaneze."

"How old were you when this happened?" asked Elladan, frowning at her.

"136. Basically thirteen." replied Gabriella. "Paris was really proud." Gabriella once again looked at her lap. "Please excuse me," she told Lord Elrond, and she left the table.

"Look what you've done!" said Elrohir to Elladan. "You upset her enough that she left without finishing her dinner. You've seen her! She's skin and bones! Especially after you starved her. I'm going to bring her a plate." Elrohir shook his head at his brother and left the hall in the direction of the kitchen.

* * *

Gabriella looked at the empty plate in front of her and sighed in contentment. She had wished there to be more meat, but it had been a good meal. Gabriella sat on her balcony, overlooking several gardens. She loved Vampire Mountain, with it's darkness and the earthy, underground smell that always permeated the air, but this was nice. The open air and warm breeze blowing gently on her face made her think of open meadows that she would ride horses on.

It had been the 1880's and she had been about 5, in human terms. Paris had taken Gabriella on a vacation to the sea, in Ireland that summer. He had rented a cottage and it had a stable with horses. They would sleep during the day, and take midnight rides after the sun had gone down. She had learned how to ride horses and had enjoyed it so much, that every opportunity that she got, she would rent a horse and go on a trail ride. It had helped that she could go in the sun, so no one would get suspicious.

Gabriella sat on her balcony for another hour before she couldn't take it anymore. She took one look at the swollen moon, and leapt off of the balcony. She dropped about thirty feet before landing lightly on her feet. She started running. Not that she was running anywhere, she just needed to calm down. She evaluated how she had been behaving and chided herself. What was the purpose of moping? It wouldn't help her get home.

She decided to just enjoy her new home. It truly was beautiful. She felt the lush green grass under her bare feet and felt an unexplainable giddiness. Deciding she needed a closer look, she spun in circles a couple times before sinking onto the ground. She lay there in the cool grass, just starting to accumulate dew.

She looked skyward and let out a gentle gasp. She had never seen anything more beautiful. The stars were clear, and the space in between them was pitch black. She started looking for constellations, slightly unnerved when she couldn't find any familiar ones. She didn't notice the eyes watching her.

* * *

Legolas had been on his balcony when he saw a ghostly figure run into the garden. He took a closer look and saw that it was just Gabriella, the figure of great interest in his discussions with the twins and Lord Elrond. He saw her stop and look at her surroundings. He saw her figure change, as if a large burden had been lifted off of her shoulders. She suddenly spun around in circles and sank into the grass with a giggle. She just stared at the sky in awe. Legolas was intrigued by this strange maiden. He had heard such horrific stories about her, but here she was, star gazing. He sighed and walked into his room.

He looked at the half full bag on his bed. He would be leaving for Mirkwood in the morning. While he longed for his home, he didn't want to go back to the spiders and darkness that had infested it. He was sorry that he wouldn't be able to get to know her better, so he could decide for himself if she was a demon, or just a beautiful maiden, lost in a new world.

* * *

While looking at the stars, Gabriella was thinking. She really needed blood. It would help her recover more quickly and that's what she really needed now. She glanced at all of the balconies surrounding the garden, and chose one. She scaled the ten foot wall with some difficulty, but arrived at her destination.

She peered in and saw a lump on the bed. Her exceptional night vision caught no movement, so she silently went to the side of the bed. It was a young woman, and Gabriella got a start when she saw that the elleth's eyes were open. She stilled for a minute, before guessing it was normal. She breathed in the face of the woman, just to make sure she wouldn't wake up.

After she had breathed in her face, the elleth closed her eyes. Gabriella shivered and selected a good spot on her shoulder. She made the small incision needed and drank her fill. She felt energy fill her as she closed the wound. She waited around for a few minutes, just to make sure the woman would be fine. After about two minutes, the elleth's eyes opened back up into their glazed position. Gabriella nodded in approval, and leapt out of the window that she had come in through, slipping into the night.


End file.
